Laughing forever at Zack Parise's decision to spend his prime playing for a Wild team three years away from contention.
Photo Credit: Carlos Gonzalez.

Rob the Hockey Guy, or RTHG as he prefers to be called of late, wonders if all hell would break loose were Luongo to refuse to waive his no trade clause (so he could spend at least this season with a contender). Interesting angle, but I'm not sure I see it. [Rob the Hockey Guy]

For the "Draft Moar Vancouver Giants" sea-to-sky boner crowd, Iain Macintyre breaks down the Canucks' revitalized efforts scouting Western Canada for homegrown, BC born talent. Yawn. Mike Gillis has been talking about drafting British Columbian players since he first arrived as Genearal Manager, and it hasn't really happened. This is because the Canucks wisely prefer to pick the player they believe is the "best available" remaining on the board. It hasn't always worked out for the current Canucks management team, but drafting based on a sense of regionalism isn't the answer. [The Vancouver Sun]

More links and other fun stuff after the jump.

Jason "stats milt" Botchford doesn't write about Corsi, but if you don't think he's paying attention to the smarter hockey analysis out there, you're a stone-cold dummie. In his take today on how the Northwest Division still blows, and how this year's version of the Vancouver Canucks would be cooked without their goaltenders, Botchford uses even-strength save-percentage exclusively in his evaluation of goaltending quality. He also tips his hat to the concept of regression. Great stuff, and wonderfully refreshing for a grumpy gus know it all, such as myself. [The White Towel]

While Wyatt Arndt has been referring to Zack Kassian as the "Kassassin" since he was first acquired by the Canucks a year ago, it turns out that former Vancouver Giant Matt Kassian got there first, and has actually trademarked the nickname. Never been a big fan of the Kassassin nickname myself, so maybe going back to the drawing board on this one isn't such a bad thing. Maybe we can call Zack Kassian the "anti-dentite." [Legion of Blog]

Thomas Drance lives in Toronto, eats spicy food and writes about hockey. He is the editor in chief of the Nation Network (a.k.a Overlord), and an opinionated blowhard to boot. You can follow him on twitter @thomasdrance.